Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez admitted he thought Xabi Alonso should have passed before scoring his stunning goal against Newcastle tonight.
Alonso struck from his own half of the field for the second time in his
Liverpool career as the Reds moved into the top half of the Barclays Premiership
with a 2-0 win at Anfield.
Alonso's stunning strike came after Dirk Kuyt had given Liverpool the lead
with his first goal for the club in the first half.
Benitez said: 'We showed that we can play good football, we can create
chances and score some goals.
'Maybe we deserved one or two more goals but at the end of the day we got one
very good score and one amazing goal.
'I think he (Alonso) played well but I was thinking of telling him off
because I was watching (Steven) Gerrard running forward out wide.
'He could have passed it but in the end it was great vision and
congratulations. He practises it all the time and I am always telling him to be
careful when shooting from distance.'
Alonso's goal was his first since scoring from his own half in the FA Cup
against Luton in January.
On that occasion too, Gerrard had berated him for not passing, only to applaud
as the ball bounced into the net.
This time he netted from 65 yards, lobbing Steve Harper as he stumbled trying
to get back to his line.
Benitez added: 'I am pleased with the number of chances we created and
defensively it was another clean sheet as well.
'It is important to have clean sheets, like last season. Clean sheets are not
just for defenders they are for the team.
'We created many chances and I think our supporters enjoyed the game
tonight.'
Newcastle boss Glenn Roeder felt his side deserved better than to be trailing
1-0 at half-time but admitted Alonso's strike was a special one.
He said: 'I don't think fans realise the technique or how difficult striking
a ball like that is.
'It was a brilliant bit of skill but having said that if Steve hadn't slipped
it would have been a great long pass into his arms.'
He added: 'We were disappointed to come in a goal down at half-time.
'For all Liverpool's pressure I thought we defended well but their goal was a
shocking one for us tactically.'
Both managers played down suggestions of an incident in the tunnel involving
Liverpool's former Newcastle striker Craig Bellamy and Magpies assistant boss
Terry McDermott - an ex-Reds player - after the game.
Benitez said: 'I heard some shouting but it was only two or three seconds. It
was nothing more than that.'
Roeder said: 'I'm not aware of anything. Terry McDermott is an experienced
coach and that would be way below him to get involved in anything like that when
he represents a club like ours.'
